Before figuring gain or loss on a sale, exchange, or other disposition of property or figuring allowable depreciation, depletion, or amortization, you must usually make certain adjustments to the cost basis or basis other than cost (discussed later) of the property. The adjustments to the original basis are increases or decreases to the cost basis or other basis which result in the adjusted basis of the
property.

Increase the basis of any property by all items properly added to a capital account. These include the cost of any improvements having a useful life of more than 1 year.

The following costs increase the basis of property.

The cost of extending utility service lines to property.

Legal fees, such as the cost of defending and perfecting title.

Legal fees for seeking a decrease in an assessment levied against property to pay for local
improvements.

Assessments for items such as paving roads and building ditches that increase the value of the property assessed. Do not deduct these expenses as taxes. However, you can deduct as taxes amounts assessed for maintenance or repairs, or for meeting interest charges related to the improvements.

If you make additions or improvements to business property, depreciate the basis of each addition or improvement as separate depreciable property using the rules that would apply to the original property if you had placed it in service at the same time you placed the addition or improvement in service. See
chapter 7.

Do not add to your basis costs you can deduct as current expenses. For example, amounts paid for incidental repairs or maintenance are deductible as business expenses and are not added to basis. However, you can elect either to deduct or to capitalize certain other costs. See chapter 7 in Publication
535.

Decrease the basis of property by the depreciation you deducted or could have deducted on your tax returns under the method of depreciation you chose. If you took less depreciation than you could have under the method chosen, decrease the basis by the amount you could have taken under that method. If you did not take a depreciation deduction, reduce the basis by the full amount of the depreciation you could have taken.

If you deducted more depreciation than you should have, decrease your basis by the amount you should have deducted plus the part of the excess depreciation you deducted that actually reduced your tax liability for any
year.

See
chapter 7 for information on figuring the depreciation you should have
claimed.

In decreasing your basis for depreciation, take into account the amount deducted on your tax returns as depreciation and any depreciation you must capitalize under the uniform capitalization
rules.

If you have a casualty or theft loss, decrease the basis of the property by any insurance or other reimbursement. Also, decrease it by any deductible loss not covered by insurance. See
chapter 11 for information about figuring your casualty or theft loss.

You must increase your basis in the property by the amount you spend on clean-up costs (such as debris removal) and repairs that restore the property to its pre-casualty condition. To make this determination, compare the repaired property to the property before the casualty.

The amount you receive for granting an easement is usually considered to be proceeds from the sale of an interest in the real property. It reduces the basis of the affected part of the property. If the amount received is more than the basis of the part of the property affected by the easement, reduce your basis in that part to zero and treat the excess as a recognized gain. See
Easements and rights-of-way in
chapter 3.

Exclusion from income of subsidies for energy conservation
measures.(p32)

You can exclude from gross income any subsidy you received from a public utility company for the purchase or installation of an energy conservation measure for a dwelling unit. Reduce the basis of the property by the excluded
amount.

If a debt you owe is canceled or forgiven, other than as a gift or bequest, you generally must include the canceled amount in your gross income for tax purposes. A debt includes any indebtedness for which you are liable or which attaches to property you
hold.

You can exclude your canceled debt from income if the debt is any of the following.

Debt canceled in a bankruptcy case or when you are insolvent.

Qualified farm debt.

Qualified real property business debt (provided you are not a C
corporation).

Discharge of certain indebtedness of a qualified individual because of Midwestern
disasters.

If you exclude canceled debt described in (1) or (2), you may have to reduce the basis of your depreciable and nondepreciable property. If you exclude canceled debt described in (3), you must only reduce the basis of your depreciable property by the excluded
amount.

For more information about canceled debt in a bankruptcy case, see Publication
908, Bankruptcy Tax Guide. For more information about insolvency and canceled debt that is qualified farm debt, see
chapter 3. For more information about qualified real property business debt, see Publication
334, Tax Guide for Small Business. For more information about canceled debt in Midwestern disaster areas, see Publication
4492-B, Information for Affected Taxpayers in the Midwestern Disaster
Areas.